Commercial UAVs were initially developed for the military and aerospace industries. However, they are being increasingly adopted as an entertainment tool for capturing high-quality and innovative videos and footage of events, natural landscapes, or urban landscapes. Moreover, they are also finding critical applications across businesses and industries to create better and more efficient processes, thereby creating new growth avenues for the market for commercial UAVs.
The commercial applications of drones are not limited to simple surveillance or footage. In the construction sector, they are used in real estate, land development, and civil engineering projects. They help in expediting the topographic surveying process comprising land planning, development, and management. In the agriculture domain, commercial UAVs allow farmers to efficiently manage their farms and collect important data related to crops in real time.
As commercial UAVs transform conventional business and industrial processes, they are set to create new ways for smart AI-powered operations for increased productivity. In December 2022, innovative logistics company Drone Express partnered with Microsoft to release the latest version of their DE-2020 drone using artificial intelligence for in-flight navigation systems. As part of this strategic initiative, the delivery drones will be equipped with Microsoft Azure to host the AI solutions and leverage Azure Machine Learning to train machine learning models.
Commercial UAV Market Report Highlights
- In terms of product, the rotary blade segment accounted for over 68.0% of the revenue share in the market for commercial UAVs in 2022, owing to increasing demand driven by its easy maneuverability and compact design
- In terms of application, the government segment is estimated to record a CAGR of 22.3% over the forecast period, owing to the increasing application of UAVs in areas such as law enforcement, security and surveillance, R&D activities, disaster management, and environmental studies
- North America is expected to expand at a notable CAGR over the forecast period, aided by the strong presence of various major drone manufacturers in the region, coupled with a sharp increase in their commercial applications
- Major participants in the market such as AeroVironment Inc., DJI Innovations, Elbit Systems Ltd, Parrot SA, and Textron Inc. focus on strategies such as mergers & acquisitions and new product launches to strengthen their foothold
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Companies Mentioned
- AeroVironment Inc.
- Aurora Flight
- BAE Systems plc
- Challis Heliplane UAV Inc.
- DJI Innovations
- Draganfly, Inc.
- EHang
- Elbit Systems Ltd.
- General Dynamics Corporation
- Israel Aerospace Industries
- Parrot SA
- Prox Dynamics AS
- SAIC
- Textron Inc.
- The Boeing Company
- Turkish Aerospace Industries Inc.
- Yuneec Holding Ltd.